Together At Last
by WishingDreamer5
Summary: Who said that Zack has lost his chance of ever being with Aerith again? He had obviously no idea about the afterlife that was waiting for him...
1. Like a Dream

**A/N: This three-shot is written for Puti Puripi, who requested Zack/Aerith in the Lifestream drabbles, quite some time ago. I'm so sorry for the delay, but here it is. Hope you'll like it. :)**

**Special thanks: M. L. Ayala, my lovely beta reader.**

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_~ "Am I…still dreaming?" ~_

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The Lifestream was eerily quiet at this time of the day. Actually, there was always only silence that surrounded him and that was the most unnerving part. By now, Zack Fair was used to all the green swirling slowly around him, even if it was like a dagger piercing his heart. After all, it was the same shade of green as _her_ brilliant eyes.

Aerith... Oh, how he longed to see her angelic face one more time. Did she even know that he had sacrificed himself in such a way? Perhaps the brunette thought that he had died years ago, since he'd never responded to any of her letters. Or maybe she was still waiting for him, thinking that he would come back to her one day. He didn't know which of the two was worse. Poor woman. She was the biggest sacrifice he'd made and she had no idea.

The raven-haired ex-SOLDIER let out a deep sigh. He was lying in something that could be seen as a bed. Admittedly, no one ever slept in the Lifestream, simply because there was no need to. Zack, however, wasn't in the mood to do anything else, feeling too depressed because of the choices that he'd made in the past. How different things would be if he had survived, if he'd found a way to get away with Cloud, alive and well...

It was always the same; whenever the man felt that a new measure of energy was added to the Lifestream, he would hope that it was _her_. It was foolish and selfish, but Zack honestly thought that his afterlife was useless without the beautiful brunette by his side. He didn't know how much time had passed, whether it was days or months...maybe years, but nothing changed in this routine. Of course he thought that she deserved a long and happy life, even if it was without him... Even if it meant that she'd eventually move on and meet another man who was alive and made her happier than he'd ever done.

Still, she didn't seem to move on at all. Zack had been watching her for so long now. For a brief moment, his heart had stopped when she seemed to get along with Cloud so well. But it didn't take a genius to figure out that those feelings were more platonic than anything else. Eventually, the troubled man had stopped watching (over) her, simply because it became too unbearable. And now, there was nothing left for him to do to keep his mind off things.

When there was a slight shifting sound on his right side, the dark-haired man automatically looked up, more out of habit than because he was really interested in who it was. The sight made his mouth drop open in utter shock. To his great surprise, he saw that Aerith, his _beautiful_ Aerith, was sitting next to him, staring at him with those mesmerizing emerald-green eyes in which he could practically drown.

He couldn't believe his eyes, so he blinked several times. The image of her, however, stayed where it was. She hadn't changed a bit, and yet, she had never looked this beautiful before. The woman was like a dream; radiant and warm. Zack took a deep, shuddering breath and sat up slowly, too afraid that she might disappear if he moved a little too _enthusiastically_, for a lack of a better word.

He wanted to embrace her, tell her how much he had missed her, but he was scared that he might wake up from this dream...without her. Aerith, however, reached out and took his left hand in hers. Her hands were soft and warm to the touch and it made his heart skip a beat.

Eventually, he stammered, "Am I…still dreaming?"

Aerith squeezed his hand softly. "Not this time," she assured him, the beginning of a smile adorning her beautiful face.

The dark-haired man wasn't convinced that quickly, though. "Prove it."

"Okay."

Aerith didn't waste any time by pinching his arm, _hard_.

"Ow! _Aerith_!" he exclaimed, almost indignantly.

"What?" she said, innocently. The way she looked up at him with her big eyes only added to that effect, but he couldn't be fooled that easily.

He rubbed his sore arm, trying to give her a deadpan look. "That's not what I meant with pro-" Zack was then effectively silenced when the brunette woman kissed him softly on the lips. Even though he was taken aback completely, he almost immediately kissed her back. It was clear that both were regretting that they hadn't done this much, _much_ earlier. When they parted, Zack was silent for a good moment, revelling in the euphoric feeling, before he sighed happily. "Whoa… I'm definitely not dreaming this time."

Aerith laughed at that. The instant that Aerith asked, "Got your proof this time?" his trademark grin was back in its place.

"…You bet."

"Well, shouldn't I get a tour around here?" she asked jokingly.

The ex-SOLDIER immediately knew that that was her way of saying that they should try to catch up on the lost time right now. "Oh, sure!"

At once, the man jumped out of the bed to do as she asked. And quite honestly, he hadn't felt this energetic in a _long_ while. Something told him that from now on, he would never feel tired and unhappy again. The sacrifice had been worth it after all.

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**A/N: Thanks for reading! I don't know when the next update will be, but I'm trying my best. :)**


	2. Jealousy

**A/N: Whoa, I didn't think that ZackxAerith stories would get that much attention, but am I wrong! Thanks a ton for all the support, guys! It really means the world to me. This chapter actually relates to what will eventually happen in my CloudxTifa collection "Delightful Yet Poisonous." This is just from a different POV. Hope you enjoy and happy Valentine's Day! :D**

**T****hanks: Walker of Nothing, VervainGirl, HazzaTL3, FullMentalPanic, Gohan Roxas, emmausgirl94, Atem's Sister Atea, No.1 Girl, and M. L. Ayala, my lovely beta reader. :)**

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_~ "Are you jealous?" ~_

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Zack tried to resist facepalming...and failed miserably. How could he _not_ react like that when Cloud was the most stupid and slow person that he'd ever had the pleasure to know? He obviously had no idea what he was doing. By the looks of it, Zack should speak of a miracle if the blond let Tifa know how much he loved her by the end of this decade. He felt so bad for the poor woman. Seriously, the patience that she had with that man. It was admirable to say the least. If Zack had been in her place, he would've kicked the chocobo somewhere where it would hurt.

"I just can't believe this! You know what, I'm gonna go pay him a _nice_ visit and tell him _exactly_ what's bothering me."

Aerith quickly grabbed his arm, so he wouldn't go anywhere. "Relax, Zack. Cloud knows what he's doing," she assured him. "He's been planning this for quite some time now. I mean, proposing to her on Valentine's Day... That has to be the most romantic thing _ever_!"

_Yeah, and it's pretty cliché, too_, Zack thought, even though he kept it to himself.

"You're kidding me, right? Does_ that_ look like he knows what he's doing? He's lost the engagement ring! He's always been pretty dense, but this… This is an insult to all men!"

"Well, I think it's quite adorable how he stutters and is all shy," the brunette admitted. "I mean, he's really trying and he doesn't make some sort of play from it, even if he's been through all the details at least a dozen time. And look, he's found the ring already, so everything's fine now, right?"

Zack shot her an incredulous look. "No, it's _not_ cute, Aerith. It's annoying as hell! How can _anyone_ find his stupidity adorable?"

Except for his own girlfriend, of course. Then again, the brunette woman found the most weirdest things adorable. Perhaps it was some sort of 'girl thing.'

"Tifa obviously does," Aerith reminded him gently, while watching how he would react.

Apparently, all he had to say to that was a grumpy "Hmph."

The brunette woman gave him a sidelong glance, before daring to ask, "Are you jealous?"

"No, I'm not…" came the immediate response.

A quiet, slightly awkward beat passed between the two lovers. It seemed that Zack didn't dare to look at her, but it didn't take her too long to find out why.

"Aww, you _are_ jealous!"

Aerith burst into a fit of giggles at that, which only caused her boyfriend to blush in embarrassment. She had a way of making him feel like an idiot...

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing. I just realized you're so much more adorable than Cloud is…"

With that, she stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek, glad that the gesture could make him smile.

"Yeah, it's about time you realized that," he joked. "Say, Aerith. I think we've seen enough here. How about we go celebrate this day ourselves?"

"Oh, you've got plans?"

Zack grinned. "You have no idea..."


	3. 23 Little Wishes

**A/N: I'm sad to say that this is the last chapter of this three-shot. It's a little short, but I hope you'll still enjoy it. Thanks so much for reading/reviewing/following/favoriting this! :D**

**T****hanks: Walker of Nothing, and HazzaTL3. :)**

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"Say Aerith?"

"Hmm?"

Aerith turned her head to her boyfriend, just in time to notice his slight nervousness. This caught her interest, because it was slightly out of character.

Zack took a deep, calming breath, before showing her a piece of paper that he'd kept in his pocket. "I happened to find this and I was thinking... If you have some time today, I'd like to help you make your twenty-three tiny wishes come true. You know, because I was never there to do it in the past."

A quiet gasp escaped her and her brilliant green eyes shot from him to the list in his hand, only to travel back to him again. She was clearly at a loss of words thanks to his surprise, but her body language spoke volumes.

Zack took her silence as a cue to continue, his voice now mildly teasingly. "It's a bit of a long list, I'll have to admit that, but it helps that I've already taken care of most things... Unless you've got other plans for today?"

Aerith sighed, thinking that she had to have the cutest and most amazing boyfriend _ever_ and there was no way she could ever thank him for everything he'd done for her. She wasn't planning on saying no, but the way he looked at her now, with those huge, pleading Puppy-dog eyes... How could she possibly say no to _that_?

"Of course not, I'd love to go with you!"

At this, Zack seemed to let out a relieved breath and almost instantly, his trademark grin returned on his chiseled face.

"So where are we heading to first?" Aerith asked curiously.

To be honest, any place was fine with her if it meant that she could spend even more of her time with the most important person in her afterlife.

"What about a nice picnic in your favorite church to break the ice?"

Aerith could almost swear that her heart fluttered up and landed somewhere near the back of her throat after hearing those words. The beginnings of a smile adorned her angelic face, as she admitted, "Sounds like a perfect plan to me."

"I was hoping you'd say that."

With that, Zack offered her his arm and the couple was ready to go.


End file.
